Richland Center, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Richland Center's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 39.5 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,004 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRichland Center
- Station IDUSC00477158
- Location43.33°N 90.39°W
- Elevation728 ft (222 m)
- Population5,052
On October 14, the normal high in Richland Center is 61°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Richland Center.
- Jan 27° 8°
- Feb 32° 11°
- Mar 44° 22°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 69° 45°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 80° 57°
- Sep 73° 49°
- Oct 60° 37°
- Nov 45° 26°
- Dec 32° 15°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Richland Center each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in June (6.03 in), the least in February (1.11 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 8°F | 17.5°F | 1.26 | 11.3 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 11°F | 21.4°F | 1.11 | 9.8 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 22°F | 33.2°F | 2.04 | 5.0 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 45.3°F | 4.10 | 1.1 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 45°F | 57.0°F | 4.68 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 67.0°F | 6.03 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 5.02 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 57°F | 68.8°F | 4.92 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 37°F | 48.4°F | 2.96 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 26°F | 35.4°F | 1.99 | 2.4 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 32°F | 15°F | 23.6°F | 1.50 | 10.7 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 35°F | 45.8°F | 39.53 | 40.4 | 120 | 9 | 166 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.1°C | 32 mm | 29 cm |
| February | 0°C | −12°C | −5.9°C | 28 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 0.7°C | 52 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 104 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 153 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.1°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 7°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 51 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 0°C | −10°C | −4.7°C | 38 mm | 27 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477158; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Richland Center?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477158.
When is the last frost in Richland Center?
In Richland Center, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 24 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 51 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 154 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 174 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 25 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richland Center in zone 5a in ZIP code 53581, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Richland Center's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (22 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00477158; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Richland Center?
In a normal year in Richland Center, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 166 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 166a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 58high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 110°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −46°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2007, with 52.68 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 74.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00477158; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00477158. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Richland Center?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Richland Center, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 1.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Richland Center need?
A normal year in Richland Center brings 7,498 heating degree days, 40% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 522 cooling degree days, 42% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,479 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,474 | 0 |
| February | 1,222 | 0 |
| March | 988 | 1 |
| April | 592 | 1 |
| May | 272 | 24 |
| June | 54 | 112 |
| July | 13 | 191 |
| August | 26 | 142 |
| September | 167 | 47 |
| October | 518 | 4 |
| November | 888 | 0 |
| December | 1,283 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,498 | 522 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477158. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Richland Center's climate compare?
Richland Center is warmer than 99 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 153. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.8°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Richland Center is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Richland Center share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Muscoda, WI1,303 people · 10 mi S
- Sextonville, WI435 people · 6 mi SE
- Boaz, WI122 people · 7 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Richland Center's climate
What is the coldest month in Richland Center?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Richland Center?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (11.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Richland Center?
June, with 6.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.11 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Richland Center in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Richland Center in zone 5a in ZIP code 53581, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Richland Center's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Richland Center?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lone Rock, WI13 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Boscobel, WI19 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Rock Springs, WI22 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Hillsboro, WI22 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made